Rockets come out on top in dramatic fashion against 76ers

The Houston Rockets trailed most of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers but were still able to get the storybook victory by a buzzer-beating three pointer by Eric Gordon. Gordon finished with 29 points and five made threes but none bigger than that last shot. Gordon led the team in minutes played, points and attempted 12 free throws – the next highest was Harden’s five attempted.

The Rockets truthfully didn’t look great, tonight. They trailed most of the game and had a really big issue not turning the ball over. Against the Grizzlies, the Rockets had 18 turnovers – tonight, up that to 19. It was an extremely messy game and the points off turnovers really hurt the Rockets. As a team, the Rockets shot 48% from the field – that number is very impressive; to walk away with a win this close shouldn’t have had to be the case.

Eric Gordon wound up having a phenomenal game tonight – it all stemmed from his aggression on offense (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

On defense, the team clearly was struggling early on without Trevor Ariza. Ariza is out for this upcoming road trip with a foot injury and Luc Mbah a Moute got the start in his place. In 36 minutes, Mbah a Moute put up 8 points and 3 rebounds – good, not great production. P.J. Tucker managed 32 minutes including a number of significant fourth quarter minutes and produced four steals – neither really made a huge difference on the defensive end.

Tarik Black was the biggest difference maker for the Rockets in his limited minutes – he had two major blocks on Joel Embiid on consecutive shot attempts clearly frustrating him. In 12 minutes, Black had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. The bad part of Black’s game tonight is that he had 5 fouls – part of his job is to do the dirty work but that sometimes gets him forced out of the game. The intensity out of Black tonight was great but they have to keep an eye on his physicality.

Speaking of physicality, Clint Capela had another monster game. His 16 point, 20 rebound effort tonight gave him his third double-double in five games this season. He’s also set a new career-high in rebounding for the second time this season – he’s showing something entirely new and very special this season. Keep in mind, tonight he went 7-9 from the field and did all of his damage in only 32 minutes. What’s even more amazing is that the 32 minutes played is his highest on the season, each of his other double-doubles came in 28 minutes or less.

While Joel Embiid is easily one of the best centers in the league, Clint Capela really held his own tonight (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

With Capela, he’s said that it’s all about getting his mindset and focus together during games. He believes that he can put together performances like this each and every night and the rest of the NBA should start believing him. The four blocks were also a season high – if he didn’t get into foul trouble early in the game, Capela could’ve seen 35+ minutes.

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As for Harden, he looked gassed by the end of the game. Chris Paul being out seems to really be taking a toll on him. Yes, the 27 points and 13 assists were nothing but spectacular, but, he was clearly a step slower in the fourth quarter even letting J.J. Redick blow by him on a simple dribble-drive. While he’s still putting up MVP numbers, the efficiency can take a hit – we saw tired legs as Harden didn’t reach the free throw line until the third quarter – something very rare for the NBA’s most-fouled player. That being said, Harden did have a big role on the last possession for the 76ers which forced a 24-second violation giving the Rockets a chance to win.

The Houston Rockets take on the Charlotte Hornets on Friday as the second game of their three-game road trip. They will be without both Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza for the entire trip and the status on Nene is still up in the air but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sit out given both his age and the play of Tarik Black.